Sister Mary's Justice Notes | October 18

Beyond the First 100 Days Continues with Pray, Reflection, Action

Beyond the First 100 Days, a one-page offering of prayer, reflection and action developed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange Justice Center provides resources to help us act positively with others and pray for those at risk from government policy choices. Read here.

Sisters Call for Prayer Vigil on Their Pennsylvania Farmland Seized for Oil Pipeline

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ have issued a call to “women and men of goodwill from all faith traditions” to join them in prayerful vigil at their outdoor chapel in Lancaster County, Pa., where construction of a fracked gas pipeline is planned to pass through their land. The congregation calls it a “profound violation of our deeply held religious convictions.” For three years, the congregation has resisted the plans of Transco/Williams to install a massive, fracked gas export pipeline through their farmland in Columbia, Pa. Several months ago, friends of the ASCs built a community chapel on the land, a symbol of their commitment to safeguard the earth’s well-being. Over the past three months, the chapel has become an active site of prayer, celebration and resistance. Despite the opposition, the oil company was granted permission to seize the land through eminent domain. The sisters have filed a federal civil rights complaint that the corporation is forcing them into using their own land in direct violation of deep religious convictions. Peaceful, prayerful resistance is planned, with round-the-clock vigil at the outdoor chapel.

Real-Life Survivor

It’s easy to watch the reality-TV series, “Survivor,” from the comfort of the living room sofa and think, I would never cheat or steal food. If you want to escape reality TV, there’s Real-World Survivor on the nightly news or inside your daily paper. This is where we can study what happens when you densely pack people into undeserved urban neighborhoods and deprive them of life’s basics. Read more here.

ProtectDREAMers from Deportation

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious urges passage of the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 that would protect the nearly 800,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have grown up in this country. The School Sisters of Notre Dame provide an online form to tell Congress to protect these young people from possible deportation and pass the DREAM Act. Click here.

Oct. 24 is Global Oneness Day and U.N. Day

Tuesday, October 24 is Global Oneness Day and United Nations Day, a day to nurture our awareness of unity in the organizations that can further our living as One. Mary Southard, CSJ (Congregation-LaGrange) writes: “We as a nation and a planet have been hammered by fires, floods, hurricanes, natural disasters of all kinds these past months. We are living in a moment of unparalleled crisis in Earth’s natural systems, and challenge to our human intelligence is to respond to this unprecedented opportunity to create the world we all want to live in.” Use October 24 as an opportunity to deepen your own awareness of our moment in creation. Let us pray that we accept the reality that we are one, and act accordingly. –From

14 States Say, ‘We're on Track to Meet Paris Climate Goals’

The U.S. Climate Alliance now includes 14 states and represents more than a third of the nation's population. Collectively, the states are equivalent to the world's largest economy and say they're on track to meet Paris climate agreement goals with or without Trump. Read more.

Assisi Diocese among 40 Catholic Groups to Divest from Fossil Fuels

On the eve of the Feast of St. Francis, the Italian diocese of Assisi is cutting financial ties with fossil fuels. In all, 40 institutions from 11 countries on five continents announced Oct. 3 their intentions to divest. The joint announcement, coordinated by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, is the largest since the release of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home." More information here.

First U.S. Bank Announces Policy against Funding Nuclear Weapons

Last month, New York-based Amalgamated Bank made an official statement against investing in nuclear weapons production. It is the first U.S. bank to do so, and the statement was the bank's first public announcement on investment policy regarding weapons of any kind. The announcement coincided with the signing ceremony at the UN for the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Read more.